There were conflicting reports about whether Khamis Gadhafi was captured alive but gravely wounded after a gunbattle in Bani Walid, a pro-Gadhafi stronghold where fighting has raged for three days. And Khamis Gadhafi has been reported killed several times, including in an August 2011 NATO airstrike.

Al Arabiya news agency reported that sources told it Khamis Gadhafi was severely wounded and arrested but that he later died. However, Al Arabiya also said, Mohamed al-Magarief, the head of Libya’s democratically elected General National Congress, told the agency the late dictator's son was killed during the clashes.

A Libyan journalist told NBC News that Khamis Gadhafi was captured while fleeing in a convoy. His right leg had been amputated, but it was not clear if that was a result of recent fighting or a previous injury.

Dr. Mustafa Abushagur, sacked as Libya’s prime minister last week, tweeted Saturday that Khamis Gadhafi’s body was taken to a Misrata hospital, the Russian Times reported.

The Guardian of London reported that a statement by the Libyan national congress spokesman, Omar Hamdan, said the 28-year-old was killed "in battle" but gave no further details.

The reports came after heavy fighting between the pro-Gadhafi garrison in Bani Walid and militias allied to the Libyan government.

The seventh son of Col. Moammar Gadhafi, Khamis Gadhafi is known as one of the most hardline of Gadhafi's sons.

His reported death prompted wild celebrations in Misrata, Libya's third city, where fireworks and car horns filled the night, the Russian Times reported. He was reviled there for atrocities allegedly perpetrated by the 32nd Brigade, a special unit he formed after studying in a Russian military academy, the Russian Times said.